First, you need a guide. Or a friend living abroad... That's why I've always opted for the local guide on my leisure trips. He avoids wandering around, wasting time that can't be made up for, closing museum doors when you don't know the opening hours... He makes your stay easier because he knows the language: I don't really see how you can walk around the streets of Shanghai or Tokyo without speaking! There are also customs that you have to respect, ways of doing things that you don't know anything about, but which he reveals to you. Finally, after four days, the guide becomes a friend: he introduces you to the locals, his acquaintances... My best guide was undoubtedly this young Belgian who, in Israel in the 1970s, introduced us to the inhabitants of kibbutz, businessmen, artists... Guides have always given me the opportunity to meet real people, some of them, I must say, quite picturesque.
So it was thanks to them that I experienced the real exoticism. In Brazil, for example, our guide introduced us to indigenous people who ran small villages in the Amazon rainforest. We became interested in these people and wanted to invest in them by giving them water pumps. The guide not only introduces you to the country and its indigenous people... but also to things that no longer exist! For example, I have fond memories of a Greek guide, a former actress, a real tragedienne, who showed visitors around the ancient monuments... and brought them back to life with immense talent! In theatres, stadiums and palaces, she used mime and storytelling to make people forget the real and live the imaginary. Through the embassies, I was able to meet other people, but this almost inevitably led to business relationships; hoteliers, for example, whose establishments, luxury ones of course, are likely to welcome our brand of champagne. I like hotels that are quiet and perfectly protected from the light; hotels that allow you to rest in the middle of the day and recover from jet lag.
For my tourist trips, I adapt to any type of hotel. My ideal room... "depends on the person with whom you share it", as Paul Morand so aptly put it. Comfort requirements also change with age. When you're in the first part of your life, you prefer to discover new things and get away from it all. On the other hand, when you're older, there's hardly any question of sacrificing comfort. I also like hand-crafted trips; those that start at the agency, two months before departure... It's such a pleasant moment. It's a bit like a romantic encounter: it's the first ten minutes that are the most seductive!
Six dates
1927: Birth of Claude Taittinger, son of Pierre Taittinger, founder of the champagne house.
1949: At the age of 22, he joined the family business.
1960: Claude Taittinger becomes Managing Director of the company.
1965: He created the Pierre Taittinger International Culinary Prize to promote French cuisine and the culinary arts.
1969: Claude Taittinger becomes Chairman and CEO of Champagne Taittinger and Chairman of the Taittinger Group (hotels, crystal, perfumes).
1996: He publishes his fourth book, "Champagne par Taittinger".
